a tribute to rush

Rush News

Last night on FX's Archer (season 6, episode 8 "The Kanes"), Doctor Kreiger's van was once again painted with a Rush themed mural; this time it featured a motif mimicking Rush's debut album with "RUSH" simply replaced by the word "VAN". - Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

This is not the first time that RUSH has been referenced on Archer:

"Double Trouble" (season 2, episode 13, aired April 21, 2011): Dr.
Krieger mentions listening to "Red Barchetta" through his "awesome
van's" stereo, and says to Archer's Russian defector love interest Katya
"Please tell me you like Rush". The van is painted with a mural like
the Exit...Stage Left album cover but reads "Exit...Van Left".

"Skin Game" (season 3, episode 8, aired March 9, 2012): In the opening scene Krieger brings Archer to his lab which holds a large Neil Peart-esque drumkit, replete with double bass drums with "Thunder" and "Dome"
written in the font from the debut album. Archer says "Wow, amazing,
you can play 'YYZ'", to which Krieger replies "First of all, it's
YY-zed. And second of all, no I can't get it, it's impossible." Later,
in the next scene (after the opening credits), in regards to creating an
android of Katya, Krieger says "How dare you fail to recognize my
greatest accomplishment to date?", and Pam replies "What, you finally
nailed YYZ?" Krieger shouts "It's Zed, and...no, Neil Peart (Pert)
stands alone..."

"Space Race: Part 2" (season 3, episode 10, aired March 22, 2012):
Dr. Krieger's van was once again painted with a Rush mural; this time
it was "Caress of Krieger".

VH1 Classic's new docu-series "Rock Icons" premiered Saturday evening (February 21st) spotlighting Geddy Lee. The full episode is available below (or you can view it here).

"From Banger Films, the people that brought you the Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary and the TV show Metal Evolutions, comes an all-new docu-series profiling the biggest icons in hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock. Rock Icons premieres Saturday February 21st at 10/9C, immediately following the That Metal Show‘s season 14 kick-off, and takes you backstage with in-depth, intimate portraits revealing who these rock stars really are. Each 30-minute episode is jam-packed with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage with featured artists and the key people who helped shape their careers. The series premiere goes beyond the limelight with Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist extraordinaire of Canadian progressive hard rock legends Rush. Find out how his remarkable musical talent and drive was influenced by the early passing of his father and why he is determined to live every bit of his life to the fullest. Future episode will chronicle the lives of metal god Rob Halford of Judas Priest, former Guns N’ Roses guitar hero Slash, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and more. Between Rock Icons and That Metal Show, VH1 Classic is the place to be on Saturday nights for all things rock so don’t forget to tune in starting February 21st!" - VH1.com, January 28, 201

"We did a feature length film on Rush, right? And now we’re doing a half-hour feature on Geddy Lee. We sort of sat there and said, what else are we going to talk about, we’ve already covered so much. As we started to talk about it and do more research, what we started to embrace was not only the Geddy Lee that’s in Rush but who he is outside of Rush. What does that tell us about his personality? So even though I spent hours with Geddy and the other guys in the band making Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, going down with him into the “bass room” of his house where he’s got, literally, the history of the electric bass all on his walls, and to sit with him as he actually pulls basses off the wall and play them and talk about the history of the instrument – I still have these moments where I’m like, this is amazing. Because I started playing bass because of my love for bands like Rush and Iron Maiden. I mean, I wanted to be Geddy Lee and Steve Harris when I was 12. I still really get a big thrill out of spending time with these guys because they come to respect the work that we do and so it’s very comfortable. We can just sit down on a very one to one basis and talk about things in a fairly transparent and relaxed way. And I think… let’s just say I’ve had worse day jobs." - Sam Dunn of Banger Films, VH1.com, February 12, 2015

As announced last fall, following last year's Rush reDISCovered release, Rush is reissuing the rest of Rush's remaining Mercury era albums (studio and live albums through A Show of Hands) in chronological order throughout the rest of 2015. Previous vinyl reissues include Rush reDISCovered, and Fly By Night (also available on blu-ray audio).

Five minutes into last night's AMC "Breaking Bad" spinoff, "Better Call Saul" (season 1, episode 4), Saul is in a room smoking a bong and hanging on the wall behind him is a Rush poster for the Aug 14, 1974 Pittsburgh show (first show with Neil Peart). [Webmaster's nitpicker's note: while this is an officially licensed poster created NMR Aquarius, it is a poorly researched - it's irksome that they used a Hemispheres
photo on a commemorative poster for a concert in 1974!] - Thanks to William Gordon for the headsup!

TORONTO - Rush frontman Geddy Lee's memory of attending his first show at Toronto's Massey Hall remains spring-water clear — and what stands out is the sound quality that was swamp-water muddled.

It was June 5, 1968, and a then 22-year-old Lee was desperate to see British rock royalty Cream, even though his friends weren't.

"I couldn't get anyone to go see Cream with me," Lee told The Canadian Press in one of Massey's spartan dressing rooms Monday.

"I said: 'Screw you all, I'm going by myself.' I sat in the balcony. And I don't think their PA system had arrived because they played onstage and Jack Bruce was singing through the Massey Hall crappy little announcement system.

"It was really strange," he added, laughing.

Such whimsical glitches may become less common as the venerable Massey Hall — a piece of Toronto iconography since it was built back in 1894 — undergoes a seven-year, $135-million revitalization.

"Phase one" of that operation began this week, with improvements including a first-ever loading dock, a modernized back of house, a backstage space for artists, and technical tweaks.

Massey Hall has been the site of several legendary live recordings, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's "Jazz at Massey Hall," Neil Young's "Live at Massey Hall 1971" and Rush's own "All the World's a Stage."

Lee talked to The Canadian Press about the relationship between the historic venue and his beloved power-prog trio.

Coming March 17th, Rush will be reissuing a unique hologram edition vinyl of 2112 (click to preorder). At the same time, they will also be reissuing All The World's A Stage on vinyl (click to preorder). Both reissues will also come with a code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped Digital Audio album download. See a sneak peak of the 2112 hologram edition vinyl courtesy of That Metal Show below.

Geddy Lee appeared on the season premiere of VH1's "That Metal Show" on February 21st at 9PM ET. The full episode is available here (embedded below). In addition, That Metal Show has posted multiple additional interviews and outtakes from Saturday night's episode which you can check out here.

Geddy Lee pulled no punches tonight (Feb. 21) when asked if an upcoming series of dates represented a de facto farewell tour for Rush — even if he was unwilling to call it that.

“It’s very hard to answer that question for a lot of reasons,” he said, during a special guest appearance on the season premiere of VH1′s That Metal Show. “First of all, you know, the three guys in this band have very different opinions on this point in our lives. Everybody’s in a very different space right now. We’ve done a lot of touring for the last 10 years, a lot of writing, a lot of working. (Drummer) Neil (Peart), for example, has a young child at home and he’s said publicly, numerous times, that it’s very hard for him to leave his daughter. She needs him. So, it’s clear that we are at a point in our career that we have to slow down — and slow down dramatically. So, I’m not a guy who’s in love with the farewell tour idea, but it’s clear that this is going to be the last big tour that we’re going to do for a while, anyway. I can say that.”

Don't miss ON TAP tonight because the ONE & ONLY Geddy Lee of RUSH will be calling in for an EXCLUSIVE interview! Geddy is going to tell us all about his upcoming appearances on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show & #RockIcons!

Back in 2009, director Paul Miil released a documentary about Niagara's music scene titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes which "explores the roots of the lost music scene of Niagara, circa 1964-1974." The documentary includes Neil Peart along with one of his early bands JR Flood performing the song "Giant Killer". Miil later posted the full documentary on Youtube.

This past Sunday, Miil posted The Origin of Neil Peart, a newly assembled 48-minute documentary using reedited footage from The Big Story of Small Potatoes, as Miil explains in the intro:

"Before the footage from The Big Story of Small Potatoes was lost to time, I thought it prudent to fill the commitment I made to myself in 2007 to make the Neil Peart documentary. Neil Peart's band mates and contemporary drummers are the true character of this film. I had a ton of fun researching and finding them, and thank them all for their participation. In any event, it may be more accurate to have the 'many' explain the 'one'..."

You can check it the documentary below. - Thanks to Andy O for the headsup!

Today Stewart Copeland posted another video of guests jamming at the Sacred Grove including Neil Peart, Matt Scannell and Danny Carey. This one is dubbed "A Little More Noise," and you'll see why in the video. From his post:

Some new drums arrived so Peart and Carey came over to lay heavy hands upon them. Scannell and I banged out any old riffs while Stone chimed the gongs. Couple days later four MORE drummers dropped by and took up the horns. The piano was an afterthought.

Today Neil Peart updated his website with the latest issue of "News Weather & Sports." Titled "The Adventures of Bamm Bamm", this is the second half of his December report where he shared his experience of competing in the "24 Hours of LeMons", an endurance racing series for low-budget enthusiasts such as Neil. This report covers their followup races in northern California at Thunderhill Raceway in September and Sonoma Raceway in December. You can check it out here.

Episode Two of the YouTube documentary "Le Studio - Temple of Sound" is now available. This documentary covers the LeStudio backstory from inception to current state. This is just the second episode posted in a year; Chapter One was posted in April of last year.

LeStudio was a world class recording studio in the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. It was the private retreat of Rush for the writing and recording of eight of their albums, as well as hundreds of other artists over the years. It closed in 2003 and now sits stripped of all it's furnishings & equipment, abandoned in the forest.

UPDATE (Feb. 6): Jay and Mark Duplass, creators of the show, appeared on Conan earlier this week, and cajoled Conan to air drum with them along to Tom Sawyer. Rush.com has posted that Geddy Lee noted "Clearly the Duplass Bros. are seasoned air drummers…they nailed it!" Check out the video here.

Rush's "Tom Sawyer" was heard during last night's episode of HBO's Togetherness (season 1, episode 3). Near the end of the show, as Brett and Alex drive home from the party "Tom Sawyer" is playing on the car stereo. They end up pulling over, discussing the song and air drumming. The song then plays over the end
credits. The episode is available on demand and on HBO Go to HBO subscribers. - Thanks to Jeff Lucas for the headsup!

Evil Ed Nijjer, Canadian editor for DRUM-line magazine, spoke with Lorne Wheaton, Neil's drum tech, to discuss the R40 drum kit at the DW Booth at the NAMM show last month. You can see the video interview below, which includes this comment which sheds some light onto what to expect from the setlist:

"For this next tour we're not going to be using the full V-Drum kit on the back. We are not going to be spinning. It's going to be full-tilt Rush songs and there will probably be a whole lot of old stuff in it." - Lorne Wheaton

Although the recent R40 Tour press release alluded to the fact that this would be "their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude", a new interview with Neil Peart from yesterday's Toronto Star restates the obvious/unwanted truth in its title. The interview itself, however, does not actually include any statement from Peart that this could be Rush's last tour, so take it as you will...

Last year, Alex Lifeson appeared on John Wesley's latest album, Disconnect. Last fall, Guitar Player magazine published an interview with John Wesley by Anil Prasad, which included an Alex Lifeson sidebar. That
piece is now online in greatly expanded form on Innerviews.org, including
extensive coverage of John’s friendships with Alex and Neil. You can find it at http://www.innerviews.org/inner/wesley.html

In the recent issue of Progmagazine (issue #52 featuring Rush on
the cover), when asked what his favorite Rush song is, Porcupine Tree's
Steven Wilson replied:

"I'd go for The Camera Eye from Moving Pictures.
For me, this is Rush continuing in the tradition of their incredible
70s epics, but achieving something more structured and lyrically mature.
As with the whole of the Moving Pictures album, it strikes a
perfect balance between the power trio format of the 70s and the more
layered keyboard-dominated sounds to come. It's also got one of the
great Alex Lifeson guitar solos - among so many!"

"...Wilson and his band (Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, Nick Beggs and Adam Holzman) lean heavily on Rush’s Jacob’s Ladder and The Camera Eye, not least in the co-joined opener First Regret/3 Years Older." - Prog.teamrock.com, January 30, 2015

Today Rush have finally announced their tourdates for 2015, with tickets going on sale starting January 30th, and presales starting January 27th.

The R40 LIVE Tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America this summer beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA. These not to be missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music....After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums – Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude.

Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on sale starting January 30 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi’s Private Pass® Program beginning January 27 in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. Exclusive Rush ticket packages are available, please visit vipnation.com for package details.

US shows: Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi's Private Pass® Program beginning Feb 3 at 10am local time in select markets. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Canadian shows: American Express® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through their Front of the Line program beginning Feb 2 at 10am local time in select markets. For complete presales details visit www.ticketmaster.ca/americanexpress, and for Montreal visit www.evenko.caOn-sale to the public:

The following shows will be going on public on-sale starting tomorrow, Friday Jan 30 at 10am local time for the following shows:

Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on PRE-SALE to Rush Newsletter subscribers first. Beginning tomorrow at 10am local time, the following 14 cities will offer pre-sales: New York City, Newark, Tulsa, St. Paul, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Bristow, Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Jose. You can buy tickets through Tickets Today (no password necessary) here: http://rush.shop.ticketstoday.com/ You can buy VIP packages through VIP Nation here, password: RUSH2015 : http://www.ticketmaster.com/Rush-tickets/artist/807344 Pre-sales for these 14 shows will be open from Friday, Jan 23 @ 10am local time and end Monday, Jan 26 @ 5pm local time. Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi's Private Pass® Program beginning Jan. 27 in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA, here are the complete list of tourdates: